


loving's so good when love is young

by AutisticMob



Series: Leopika Week 2020 [3]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Culture Shock, Drinking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Jewish Character, Kissing, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Post-Canon, Suicidal Thoughts, Time Skips, kurapika and leorio are both terrible at coping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:01:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24390064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticMob/pseuds/AutisticMob
Summary: Day 3 of Leopika WeekPrompt(s): Opening up | Confession | FirstsLeorio and Kurapika realize their feelings for each other for the first time on the Black Whale, which culminates in a proposal when back at home.
Relationships: Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Series: Leopika Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1758400
Kudos: 58





	loving's so good when love is young

“So...it’s finally over,” Leorio said. His hands trembled as he lit a cigarette, the orange cherry like a tiny star above the black water below. 

“Yeah.”

“What will you do now?” Leorio asked as the gray hand of smoke from his cigarette reached up in vain towards the sky, spreading its fingers as it disappeared into the darkness. 

Kurapika drew in a sharp, shaky breath as he looked up at the white crescent moon that hung in the sky above. 

What was he going to do? He had nothing left. 

“I...I’m not sure.”

What was there? His family and clan were gone, and returning to his homeland would mean nothing but sorrow. The Phantom Troupe were dead, some by his own hand and some by the force of fate. 

“If you need a place to stay while you get back on your feet, you can stay with me.”

Kurapika laughed, cold and bitter. “I guess I do owe you. You saved my life more times than I’m willing to acknowledge.”

A thick curtain of silence hung between them, punctuated only by the lapping of the waves against the side of the boat. 

“I did it because I love you.” The words stumbled forth from Leorio’s mouth with barely any thought.

Kurapika glanced at him. “What?”

A cloud of smoke left Leorio’s trembling lips, bile rising into the back of his throat. 

“I love you.”

Kurapika returned his glance out over the star-speckled horizon. “In what way?”

“Can I kiss you?” Leorio asked, avoiding Kurapika’s question. Maybe if he’d had less wine in his blood, he would’ve asked something different. 

Maybe if Kurapika had less champagne in his blood, he would’ve given a different answer. 

“Yeah.”

Leorio tossed his cigarette onto the deck and stamped it out. Kurapika watched as Leorio approached him. They embraced, and Leorio placed his hand on Kurapika’s cheek, stroking it with a calloused thumb. 

“You’re so beautiful,” Leorio breathed. 

“You aren’t so bad yourself,” Kurapika joked back. Leorio could hear the unmistakable pain that edged his voice as he spoke.

“I’ve been in love with you since the hunter exam.”

“When was that? It feels like it was a thousand years ago,” Kurapika said. “I don’t remember who that person was.”

“I need to ask,” Leorio’s breath caught in his throat, “do you like me?”

“I wouldn’t have agreed to let you kiss me if I didn’t. I left my clan behind in search of a doctor, and...I guess I found one,” Kurapika admitted. How had so many years passed, yet the memory still made his heart ache? Why did it still hurt? 

Leorio leaned in, his lips brushing against Kurapika’s. The smell of smoke filled his nose, but he ignored it and kissed Leorio back. 

“Are you okay?” Leorio asked as he pulled away. 

“I guess I just feel...empty.”

Leorio frowned. “Is that how it is?”

Kurapika sighed and leaned against the railing. “I thought it would feel good when I got all the scarlet eyes back.”

Leorio placed his hand against Kurapika’s back. It was strangely comforting, and he found himself leaning into the gentle touch. “I don’t feel fulfilled at all. I have no plans for my life either. I did everything I wanted to do. Now I have nothing.”

What was supposed to happen now? 

He’d considered some...certain alternatives. Shortcuts to seeing his friends and family again, considering the thought of dying didn’t scare him at all. 

But he couldn’t help but think of Gon and Killua and Leorio’s faces, their trembling hands placing rocks on his tombstone 

Was that why he hadn’t done it, even with all the chances he’d had? 

Leorio leaned in closer, and Kurapika turned towards him, desperate for some kind of comfort. 

Kurapika hadn’t cried in months—he celebrated it as if it were some kind of personal victory, and not because he stuffed his emotions down and locked them away to keep his emotional pain at a tolerable level. 

And yet, there he was, clinging to Leorio’s shirt and crying, almost silent save for his shaky breathing. 

Leorio didn’t know what to do. All he _could_ do was be there for Kurapika. He couldn’t even tell him everything would be alright. 

“I know it hurts. If you need someone to be by your side whilst you put yourself back together, I...I’ll be there.”

Kurapika inhaled sharply, lungs burning with desperation. “Honestly...I think that’s part of why I like you. You’re like a rock.”

“A rock?” Leorio asked, confusion lacing his gentle, soft voice. 

“Mhmm,” he pressed his head against Leorio’s chest, his heart pounding loudly against the wall of his chest. Kurapika couldn’t help but smile, even though his heart ached. 

Leorio cleared his throat. “I don’t want to be rude, but is that a Kurta thing?”

Kurapika laughed, even as tears rolled down his cheeks like silver droplets of liquid diamond. 

“Not really. It’s much more of a Jewish thing. When someone dies, we don’t really leave flowers on graves. Instead, we leave stones.”

“Huh? Why?” Leorio asked. 

Kurapika shrugged, arms still draped around Leorio’s shoulders. “I’m not sure where the tradition came from, to be honest. I’ve heard lots of different explanations, but a pile of stones is used as an altar in the Talmud.”

“An altar, huh…” Leorio trailed off. 

“A place of worship. A testament to G-d’s greatness, if you will,” Kurapika said, pressing his head back against Leorio’s broad chest. 

“Isn’t there a saying about one’s body being a temple or something? I can’t count how many times old people in stores have told me that when they see my tattoos,” Leorio laughed. 

Kurapika glanced up at him. “You have tattoos?”

“Want to see?” Leorio’s hand brushed over the small of Kurapika’s back. 

He shuddered. “Are you inviting me to…?”

Leorio raised his hands defensively. “Only if you want. I won’t make you commit to anything either.”

Kurapika wanted something to numb the pain. He knew it was unhealthy, but he told himself that everyone had their vices. Leorio did the same thing, and Kurapika knew it. 

“Is this different?”

Leorio stared at him, chewing his bottom lip. “I’d think so. I’m in love with you.”

“Okay.” 

  


* * *

  


“It’s been a long time since we’ve been here, hasn’t it?” Leorio asked as he turned to look at Kurapika. 

Kurapika nodded. “It has. It feels like it was forever ago…” 

Everything felt so long and so short at the same time, as if his life was nothing but a series of infinite eternities and momentary seconds stitched together like a patchwork of time. 

“It was a long time ago, I think.”

Kurapika laughed. “Seems like you don’t remember either.”

A dark flush bloomed across Leorio’s brown cheeks. “Hey! Don’t tease me!”

Kurapika laughed lightly and shook his head. “Okay, okay. Sorry, I won’t. Anyways, where are we going?”

Leorio raised a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. “It’s a secret. You’ll see when we get there!”

Kurapika nodded, a smile pulling at the edges of his lips. “Okay.”

He followed close behind Leorio as they made their way down city blocks and between narrow back roads. They came out on a street in front of a large park.

“Well?” Leorio took Kurapika’s hand in his own and gave it a squeeze. 

“It’s...pretty,” Kurapika said. 

“Don’t you remember?” 

Kurapika looked at him expectantly. “Remember what?” He asked. 

“This was where we first met after separating for a while, when we came for the Yorknew Auction. Sorry if it gives you painful memories, but…”

“No, it’s okay. I...I think it’s nice,” Kurapika said. 

“C’mon, let’s go.” Leorio motioned for Kurapika to follow him across the street and into the park. They crossed a large stretch of grass and made for a bench towards the center of the park, near a fountain.

Leorio sat on the bench and patted the space beside him. Kurapika sat down beside him. Leorio then got up again and knelt down in the grass in front of Kurapika, propping one knee up. 

Kurapika looked at him, his deep brown gaze unflinching. “What are you doing?”

“Stay there,” Leorio said, gentle but firm. He drew in a deep, shaking breath, and reached his hand into his pocket. 

Kurapika’s heart pounded painfully against his chest, the blood racing in his ears. His hands trembled, and anxiety made his stomach churn. 

Leorio produced a small black box from his pocket, an uneasy smile spread across his face. 

“I...I’ve been in love with you for a while, Kurapika. We’ve been dating ever since we left the Black Whale, and...you can say no if it’s too soon, but…”

Leorio’s eyes fluttered closed, and he opened the box. 

“Will you marry me?”

Kurapika stared down at him in disbelief. “Huh?”

“Eh?! You-you’re supposed to say yes! Unless you don’t want to, which I understand. We _have_ only been dating for a little over three years…”

“I’m confused,” Kurapika admitted. 

“By what?”

“Is that how you ask someone to marry you?” He questioned. 

“Uh...yeah?”

Kurapika sighed and folded his hands in his lap. “I see. In Kurta culture, it’s much different, so...it’s a little bit of a culture shock for me.”

Heat flooded into Leorio’s cheeks, and he laughed sheepishly. “Oh.”

“It’s fine, you didn’t know. It’s not like you could’ve researched either, since most of our clan’s history is oral and not written…”

“What do you do if you wanna marry someone?” Leorio asked. 

Kurapika shrugged. “For us, marriage usually wasn’t for the sake of love. Since we couldn’t marry within the clan, once we reached eighteen, our parents would find someone from one of the other nearby tribes or clans for us to marry, approved by the clan elder of course. It was mostly for political reasons and to keep our gene pool diverse.”

Leorio stared at him, eyes wide and mouth agape. 

Kurapika laughed. “That doesn’t mean people never loved each other though. There were times when people would marry for love, and we have legends where some of the best relationships came about because of it. Most of the time though, it was used to tie up political loose ends or to help keep peace in the area. Couples usually did end up falling in love, as was the case with my mother and father, especially after they had a child.”

“Oh shit. Sorry, I—”

Kurapika raised his hand and shook his head. “Don’t. It’s fine. Like I said, you wouldn’t have known that was how it was with us. But...if this is how outsiders do it...I accept.”

Leorio’s smile widened, and tears stung at the corners of his eyes. He leaned forward and pulled Kurapika into a tight hug, tears leaving dark spots on his shirt. His body trembled as Kurapika hesitantly wrapped his arms around Leorio, and he couldn’t tell if Leorio was crying or laughing or some weird mix of both. 

“I’m so happy…” Leorio breathed, sniffling as he raised his head to look at Kurapika. 

Kurapika laughed, smiling so hard that his cheeks hurt. “Me too. Although…” he paused, and Leorio’s smile dropped. 

“What’s that for?” Kurapika pointed to the ring box that Leorio was still holding. 

“Wait, you don’t exchange rings either?!” Leorio exclaimed. 

Kurapika sighed, but his smile remained. “I guess our cultures are really different, but...I can teach you. We have basically all the time in the world, now that we’re...uh…” he trailed off, not knowing the word ‘engaged’.

“Engaged. It’s when both people agree to a marriage, but they aren’t married yet because they haven’t had a wedding.”

Kurapika tapped his fingers against Leorio’s shoulder, just like he always did when he was swept up in thought. “I see...in Kurta, we call it ‘req’la’, which...means something like ‘courtship’, I think.” 

Leorio’s tongue fumbled with the foreign word, stumbling over the sounds he wasn’t used to making or hearing. “‘Req’la’, huh…” 

“Don’t worry,” Kurapika leaned his head against the now sitting upright Leorio’s shoulder, “like I said, we have all the time in the world to discuss those kinds of things. For now…” he paused, and Leorio found the words he was searching for but couldn’t say. 

“Let’s just enjoy each other’s company.”


End file.
